Week 1

Hello everyone. I am Nicole Decker and I teach at Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School in South Dakota. I
am the head band director here and this is my third year at this school. I received my undergraduate
degree from The University of South Dakota in 2014 and this will be my third semester in the NSU
program. This will also be my second class I’ve taken from Dr. VanGent and she is truly a wonderful
professor! I learned so much last semester and cannot wait to continue this journey.

I have some knowledge in general music methods, but I have not taught a class like this since coming to
Roosevelt. The past classes I had to teach were given to me with little to no direction, no curriculum and
virtually no budget. As stressful as it was, I did learn a lot over those years and it will now be fun to look
back at these and see what I did well (and perhaps what I did very poorly).

Music Learning Theory refers to how we learn music. It uses sequences and can be adapted to individual
students’ level of music aptitude. When teaching music there are many things one must consider. Is the
music most appropriate for this group of students, what tonality should they be learning about, what types
of meters, etc. Audiation is at the forefront of most of those questions. When discussing the terms,
method and technique, one must know the difference between the two. Method is describing the order in
which we teach, while technique is an aid to help achieve our goals and objectives.

My understanding of most of this chapter comes from the idea of audiation first, the visual representation.
This may be the best method in teaching music. It makes a lot of sense when they discuss how children
learn. I have a two year old right now who is going through this process right in front of me. His language
is developing because we have said the word like, “ball”, then pointed to one. He associates this
sound/word with this object because we have introduced it in this way. He is now at the stage where we
will reverse engineer this idea by pointing at something new and ask “what’s that?”. It seems so simple,
yet when put to teaching music, something we might take for granted and get stuck in the ink. As he
develops and continues to understand language, similar to how we teach and appreciate music, he will
stop thinking in one word thoughts, and have more sentence-like phrases. We tend to read music in
phrases as our skills develop rather than in individual notes.

Week 2

I feel as though I started to do this in my last discussion post, not realizing this would be the next topic! I
also feel that I have a front row seat at my house to this theory because my sons are in the exact ages
that this can apply to in many ways.
In this week’s reading and video, I really like how the author, although questioning at times, relates music
to language. Since this is something we are all familiar with, no matter what language it might be, it is a
simple concept that feels easy to understand. The development of language happens so naturally within
the body, I feel that music is the same way. Watching my four year old be able to repeat song lyrics or
even sometimes finish a cadence while singing the end of the song is so neat to watch. We very clearly
listen to a ton of different types of music in our house, so I know that the process of audiation is
happening for him at different levels. The author talks about varieties of audiation and discusses how this
relates to jazz music. A lot of the time, I will give my drummer the trumpet parts instead of the actual drum
parts because, to be honest, those aren’t always written well for drummers. They obviously show the
pattern they need to play, but it doesn’t allow for them to visually see what is happening within the
ensemble. As we are learning songs, I always talk about how important listening is, but I also encourage
them to play like they were the lead trumpet player, rather than a background member in the group. I find
that my drumset players have a lot of success when they do need to solo because they can grab onto
more of a melody and make their fills meaning full rather than just keeping time.

The author goes on to talk about audiation versus imitation. This makes me think about watching my four
year old who will be laying in bed, but then out of nowhere start singing a song from church three days
ago! He mostly knows the words, but is not always correct, especially when he tries the latin songs. He is
learning these songs by rote, but as he ages, I will be able to explain how and why the notes look the way
they do on the page so he can develop the skills beyond using his ears.

As we continue to read more about this, I am reflecting a lot on my own classroom practices. Anytime I
play music or sing or even make the kids sing before they try to perform or sight read, their success rate
is much higher. I recognized it in my early years of teaching, so kept the practice going, but now I feel that
I have a bit of validation for this technique, knowing that the first step in auditation and
understanding/comprehending music is listening.

Week 3

Please do not get too caught up in a description of the what and how of these chapters. Provide an
overview and your basic understanding. You will refer to this publication throughout the rest of the
semester as a guide.

My basic understanding of these chapters begins within the first chapter where they discuss the growth of
the child and what is beneficial towards their progress and development. Reinforcement helps alongside
repetition, but extended reinforcement can dull the mind. Memorization comes from sameness and is
encouraged but expansion of the vocabulary is a must. Songs and chants can be summed up in two
words, context and content. The context refers to the substance of the songs/chants. Tonal patterns and
rhythms relate to the content.

Silence, as well as simple tonal patterns and rhythm patterns, are crucial for audiation. In the video of the
informance, the teacher would sing the pattern, give a pause and then breathe with the students before
repeating the phrase. It is similar to giving “think time” when asking a question within the classroom. The
students are able to absorb the pattern, then in time using a breath, repeat it with ease.

Movement is another important factor when children are learning to perform chants and rhythms. Allowing
them to move freely avoids restricting them to rigidity. It allows them to be expressive and relaxed.

Entertainment, Experience and Education are the three E’s of music instruction. The first tier,
entertainment, which teaches students to listen, sing, dance and so on. It creates a positive attitude
toward music. The second tier, experience, deals with students in middle or high school who have chosen
music and an elective. They leave school with more knowledge about music than their peers. Lastly,
education is the most advanced tier and focuses on the student learning music and not about music. They
are developing their improvisational skills while becoming less dependent on imitation, memorization or
notation to be involved in the music in front of them.

Learning to imitate tonal patterns forms a secure foundation for audiation skills. Children are both able to
use their speaking voice and their singing voice. A child learns how to use them both practically and
separately. This is developed by children listening and imitating what they hear around them. Rhythm can
be separated into three elements, rhythm patterns, microbeats and macrobeats. Patterns help create the
rhythm of the melody, Microbeats create meter and form while Macrobeats create tempo. Children will be
able to begin within their "first vocabulary" and move to their "secondary vocabulary" as they work through
these simple methods.

Week 4

I will begin my post this week with the videos. The “Du De” system is not one I was familiar with before
this. I have taught almost all of the other versions of counting, but not this one. The macrobeat is the
larger pulse, while the microbeat refers to a subdivision. I really like how this lesson focuses on the pulse
rather than the actual number. I have switched my methods recently on this because it seems that
students get very hung up on the number. I was planning on teaching a lesson on syncopation (tomorrow)
but I think I will actually begin with watching this video first. It may help them audiate the off-beats more
once I introduce that to them.

Tonal & Rhythm patterns was something I felt more familiar with. He discusses the importance of
audiation breath. I liked how he jumped while he was breathing, it really got their bodies to move. He also
used his arms to help them take a large breath. He discussed what he did not want from the students,
then showed the example that he did expect. Then he goes on to describe his different types of gestures.
His wait time was fantastic when he realized they were reacting and not watching him. He made sure the
students were all engaged and explained each gesture he would use which helped the students
understand his expectation.

Chapter 3: When students show evidence of vocal improvisational skills at the elementary age, this is
proof that they are audiating. All students must not be ignored, regardless of their ability to repeat and
understand patterns. Some students will excel, but will become bored if not addressed further, while some
may not understand at all and get frustrated and give up. I find this to still be true in the high school levels.
The chapter discusses that there are many students who will have a higher aptitude due to heredity, but
not to confuse the two. There is potential for all students, just as there is a will to want (or not want) to
improve their musical abilities. As the child grows, there are tests that are developed to help assess the
music aptitudes for each individual. At age nine is where the aptitude is stabilized. In each age group,
there must be improvisation present in order to increase their musical skills. From newborns on, each
student group can learn from improvisation.

Chapter 4 & 5: When we read, we don’t read each letter as our eyes move across the page. Rather, we
read entire works and put them together to make sentences. Music can be understood in a similar
manner. We can read a pattern of notes, but we do not need to stop on each pitch and determine all of its
musical elements. We instead read a measure, a phrase, etc. to put it all together in a simplistic way. I
really enjoyed reading through the different types of examples. They are explained very well and this is
something that anyone could add into their toolbox. Writing vocabulary is something I feel that many
students struggle with or completely avoid altogether. I know that I do not enjoy writing down melodies or
rhythms (or any sort of composing what-so-ever), so it was surprising to read that it is not necessary to
help cultivate creativity.

Summary: I really enjoy the fact that the author doesn’t seem to be addressing exclusively music
educators, but rather seems to be talking to the parents. We all know and understand music in great
detail, but these things seem possible to anyone at any level of musical knowledge.
Week 5

Please talk about the teaching method of Zoltán Kodály, discuss it through the lens of MLT, and how you
might use it in an elementary classroom and throughout the K-12 curriculum.

I began this week watching a few of the videos off of the websites provided. I watched Mathias talk about
the process of the Kodaly method and how she would use it within a second grade classroom. She began
with a simple call and response using both a vocal exercise and a clapping rhythmic exercise. I noticed
that in comparison to the weeks before, she does not use a prep breath (or at least it is very quick).
Matthias is working with only adults, so I assume she may have modified a bit to take this into account.
After many rounds of singing and clapping “Hot Crossed Buns”, she has them analyze the form and the
beat pattern of the song.

From here, I bounced around looking through the websites a bit more before reading the chapter. After I
included the reading, I found that the important elements about the Kodaly method are:

1. It is a philosophy of education
2. It is a concept of teaching.
3. It is meant to train basic skills in music and teach those to read and write music - emphasis on
knowing these before learning an instrument
4. Is an experience-based approach to teaching
5. Much focus is put on singing & hand gestures that coincide (solfege) - singing helps to develop
the best foundations for musicians
6. Music should be taught at a young age to be the most effective
7. Folk music helps us learn because it has strong roots in the fundamentals
8. Well thought out sequencing will highly benefit our students through this method
9. He believed that music should be a core subject taught within schools
10. He believed that music would develop someone’s entire being-personality, intellect, and emotions

After reading all of this, I realize that this may be the method I am the most familiar with. Many teachers
around me have used this method and it is most likely the method that was given to me while in my
formative years. I have heard or have used myself (without even realizing) “ta - titi - ta”. I once had to
teach 6th graders bucket drumming and used this method to help them understand how to count. I didn’t
use a number system until they fully understood ta, ti and ka for rhythms. Overall, to me, this method lines
up very well with what we have learned about MLT.

Week 6

● Please talk about the teaching method of Dalcroze and discuss it through the lens of MLT and
how you might use it in an elementary classroom and throughout the K-12 curriculum.

Emile Jaques-Dalcroze was a Swiss musician who helped develop eurhythmics (which means “good
flow”). When I first saw this word, I thought, there’s a percussion ensemble piece called eurhythmics! I am
immediately interested. Dalcroze began to create ear training games for his conservatory students to help
develop their inner hearing. What he recognized is that our bodies are away of the life and movement of
music subconsciously. Most of his work focuses on the kinesthetic aspect of learning and especially
learning through music and movement.

The four basic ideas of Dalcroze’s approach are:

1. Eurhythmics awakens the physical, aural and visual images of music in the mind.
2. Sight-singing and ear-training with purposeful movement work to improve musicality and
intellectual understanding
3. Music can be experienced in speech, gesture, and movement
4. Humans learn best when multiple senses are activated.

He also discusses different ways to involve movement, Movement in Place and Movement in Space.
Movement in place included things like conducting, clapping, swaying, singing. Movement in space
includes walking, running, skipping. Another large element of this method is improvisation. It helps
students increase their decision making skills as well as their interpretations of music. It requires a lot of
concentration but connects to the nervous system which unites all of the senses.

I find that this approach works perfectly for elementary school children. I just imagine dancing with scarfs,
or dancing around the classroom to different types of music and all of the kids being very engaged and
involved in the lessons. I find it difficult to relate it to the high school realm in a concert setting. On the flip
side, I think it is somewhat of a version of marching band. Clearly the kinesthetics apply greatly to how
they move their feet, or perform visuals, etc. So in that sense, I think I use this approach in my classroom,
but for just a limited amount of time.

Week 7

Before our presentation on Sunday night, I think I was like most others, I thought Orff was just about
mallet instruments in the elementary classroom. Now I understand it as much more.

Carl Orff was a German composer who wrote many dramatic works such as “Carmina Burana”.
Schulwerk stands for school-work. This was heavily influenced by Dalcroze eurhythmics with focus being
on the movement of students.

The Orff-Schulwerk began in Germany in the 1920s and focused mainly on the child’s natural group play
behavior to pull out the potential musicality of each student. The task of the teacher was to design and
facilitate activities so all participants could feel success, satisfaction and joy throughout the experience.

Music and movement are considered to be equal and interdependent. The building blocks of the musical
elements include melody, rhythm, harmony, form, texture, timbre, and expression. The use of time, space
and energy in both free and patterned forms begin to describe the overall usage of Orff-Shulwerk.

From our zoom call, I noticed that call and response was used heavily throughout the lesson. The teacher
would begin with a story and add musical elements to it as it continued. Students are able to respond by
imitation, then free to develop into improvisation. This allows the students to feel confident within their
parts, but also allows them to explore their our capabilities. It also helps develop their sense of form.

Rhyming and the sense of a strong steady pulse are key to making this method work. Singing, and with
solfege, is the next key element. Relating to MLT, the audiation aspect helps the students predict what is
going to happen next within the melody or rhythm, etc. I feel as though many elementary teachers use
some form of this method within their lessons without even realizing it (outside of music that is). Lastly,
instruments may be used in several forms throughout this method as well. Body percussion, unpitched
percussion, and Orff instruments or mallets/pitched percussion are used if available within the classroom.

When I think about lesson planning the Orff-Schulwerk lessons for high school band, it is easy to see how
to implement it. Jazz would be the easiest group to design a lesson for. The use of audiation through
simple phrases, similar to a 12-bar blues, can be taught with the idea of improvisation over top that can
pass throughout the band.

Week 8
Please talk about the teaching method below and discuss it through the lens of MLT and how you might
use it in your own classroom and throughout the K-12 curriculum.
Read
● Teaching for Musical Understanding (TMU) (Wiggins)
○ Skim the Preface – Chapter 3
○ Read Chapter 4
○ Read Chapter 5

Chapter 3 - We use many different ways to conceptualize music. The first is culture specific. There are
many kinds of musics in the world that are organized in different ways than we understand it, as is the
role in which it plays in their day-to-day lives. We, as a Western culture, engage in interactive musical
processes such as listening, performing and creating. Teaching music requires deeper understanding of
the broad concepts and finer components of music.

Metaphor Theorists say that we understand concepts in relation to our bodies, environment and how we
interact with other people. The words pitch, rhythm, melody and harmony are not metaphorical, but rather
we use high-low, up-down, long-short to describe what we are experiencing. I feel as though I relate to
these concepts best because although I can understand the finer components of music, I use the
metaphorical terms to help my students understand what they must emulate in their performance. If I want
a student to play a staccato note, I will say, play lightly (or short, even though that’s not the best
description).

The idea of metaphor elements originated in 1960 by Jerome Bruner. He proposed that the subject matter
we teach should comprise the structural elements of various studies that are taught in school. To learn
music, we must develop understanding of elements and processes. This helped move away from
curricula that was operating on basis of facts to be memorized. The author proposed a change to teach
various qualities of music - multidimensional structured whole. This would help learners understand
elements that would enhance their musical work/experience while developing a relationship with the
authentic musical process. There are many terms that are considered broad and there are many that are
specific that all fall under the dimensions and multidimensional qualities of music. They all move in a
connected pathway and interact with each other. We construct our understanding of music through our
experiences; I thoroughly enjoy this as a topic because I feel like this aligns well with my philosophy of
music education.

Chapter 4 - Teacher Roles: Play a wide range of roles in learning. The first role is scaffolding learners
which provides both social and musical scaffolding. Primary role in this is to enable them to operate within
their zones of proximal development. This will result in higher levels of understanding and competence in
music and ultimately musical independence. The teacher helps guide students to the correct answer
without saying the answer themself. It focuses the attention to the students’ thought processes and
creates a learning community.

The students feel comfortable with the teacher to answer questions in the classroom environment.
Teachers will ask open ended questions and the students will be able to ask and answer questions to
learn more and have higher levels of understanding. In the large group, the teacher will take the role as
the leader, but learners can suggest and discuss theories and the teacher can become more of a
facilitator. Learners will enter classrooms with a lot of knowledge from their previous experiences both in
school and in other settings. It is the teacher’s role to help them navigate the knowledge they have and
present it through music.

Teachers will often have to focus the energy from the learners. They will also have to monitor learner
understanding and progress. I think this can be challenging to express because we don’t always have the
tangible “grade” to put on a test. Their tests are public performances and how well they know their parts of
each song. My showing them what a model musician can be, the teacher can help them improve their
skills and willingness to improve their craft.

Learner roles: Learners actively engage in real-life, problem-solving experiences. Learners work with
primary concepts in ways that foster thinking. Learners experience thing that are contextual and holistic
by making connections to musical works. Learners have ample opportunity to interact with peers and
teachers. This helps aid in scaffolding. Learners’ ideas help them create the understanding of the
learning/teaching process. Learners become aware of goals and work hard towards their own personal
goals. Thinking of learning as problem solving enables the teacher to understand teaching in terms of
what the learner will learn rather than what the teacher will teach.

Chapter 5 - Teachers must first understand that musical problem solving is a mindset, not a method.
Learners need to figure things out on their own. This will help them reflect on their understanding and
continue to grow. I think too often as teachers we want them to succeed so badly that we will give them
too much information because we know the answers. Many times we need the patience to allow them to
figure it out on their own before we have to intercede again.Assessment is an ongoing process that
happens throughout learning and the experiences. Ultimately this chapter discusses the teaching
mindset that is learner-centered rather than teacher-centered.

Week 9

Chapter 6 -
Performing problems: Learning to perform can happen via imitation of a model or through
thoughtfully solving problems related to specific dimensions of the music. Mimicking does not challenge-
their ability to reason musically. Students may be able to determine appropriate dynamic or tempo
changes based on the way it sounds, or what chords to play, and become increasingly familiar with the
work before performance. Students can begin to help make decisions about the appropriateness of
dynamics, level, tempo, phrasing, etc., and develop an understanding of why musicians make these kinds
of decisions. Learning in a performing ensemble provides unending opportunities for musical
problem-solving.
Listening Problems: Learners solve problems primarily through listening. Listening problems must
include at least one means of representation and communication in what the students hear. We are
currently preparing for a concert this week, so we like to record the students and have them listen back to
the concert the day after. We have them type up a short reflection paper so we can see what they are
hearing and not just hope they are hearing what we want them to hear.
Creating Problems: Often found less often in music classrooms than performing and listening.
Composing is a form of thinking in music. Composing and arranging can occur with intentionality within
the classroom. Learners can compose and arrange in a traditional setting, but there are many
opportunities for media composing. Technology should enable learners to engage in activities similar to
those they might do in a non-technological manner. Small group composing can occur in classrooms to
help students teach their peers. If the group pairings are productive, they will be eager to be successful.
Teachers must be wary of problematic groupings. Songwriting is an easy form for students of all ages to
understand and recreate. Many students find this type of creation therapeutic and poetic, while others just
begin to grasp the concepts but are familiar with the process based on their upbringings and the music
around them.
Improvising is another way learners can think in music. It can be considered a version of
“Thinking out loud”. Learners must be given an opportunity for a safe, supportive environment to create
and freely generate musical ideas.

Chapter 7 -
This chapter explores the understanding of planning and scaffolding for learners as they engage
in musical problem-solving. Students must be able to produce and learn on their own with the guidance of
the teacher to get them to the correct spot. I find that right now, my students (for lack of a better term)
need a lot of hand-holding when preparing for anything. They are reluctant to trust the process and allow
themselves to lean into what we’ve learned so far. There are always exceptions to this, so I have many
students who are also jumping in and blossoming as good musicians and determined learners.
If we begin to teach the basic terms, learners can begin to grasp these concepts first and build
upon them. As they begin to learn more complex musical concepts, the more their musical knowledge can
expand. A lot of the time in jazz band, I talk about their “toolbox”. Every musician has one that they can
pull out a tool and use to their advantage. They continue to add to this toolbox and they learn more styles
and advanced techniques.
There are many watts to engage young learners. Singing, Moving, Playing, Creating, Listening,
Notation, and the use of technology are the pillars within this. The more variety, the more consistency you
will see for growth in learners. Younger learners will do better with shorter units and quick activities. They
will also do better with a teacher-guided lesson rather than individual work time.

Chapter 12-
Many of the ideas of learning and teaching come from the understanding of how people learn.
There are connections between engagement and learning in most disciplines, but especially in music. We
as musicians try to connect to other disciplines throughout our lessons by teaching history, math, science,
language, etc. just by learning about the music we are performing or listening to. As a high school
director, we are able to have in-depth conversations with students about so many of these elements. It is
easy to develop a curriculum with a focus on the interdisciplinary subjects of music. I almost always read
the program notes/notes to the director to the students so that they have a better understanding of why
this piece exists in the first place. We can talk about the composer and what their lives were like, then
create a biography for ourselves similar to a composer’s. There are endless possibilities for
cross-curriculum teaching in our end of the world. I really enjoyed reading the examples and descriptions
of possibilities for this.
Week 11

Suzuki was a violinist and educator who lived in Japan for many years before teaching in
Germany. One of his goals was not simply to develop professional musicians, but to nurture loving human
beings and help develop each child’s character through the study of music.

In the Suzuki method, listening to music should begin as early as possible. Many students start
learning this method in the strings world. Like learning any skill, repetition is very important. You don’t
learn something then forget it, you keep adding to it and build it up even more.

Along with private lessons, children should also play with each other and encourage each other
through their learning process, even when children all learn at different rates. Kids do not need to have
any musical background before starting the Suzuki method. Suzuki’s approach of “character first, ability
second” really resonates with me. This helps show that all students should have the opportunity to learn
music. It doesn’t matter if you have had any experience with music or what your background is, you still
should be given the opportunity to earn music. The main aim of the Suzuki method is the development of
the whole child, on education through music. His philosophy on education, character development and
the cultivation of ability in all children are explored thoroughly in his two best known books, ‘Nurtured by
Love’ and ‘Ability Development From Age Zero’.

Week 12

● Please begin your initial post by talking about how what you have learned
this semester is informing your teaching. Consider some of the suggestions
you have discussed thus far, but feel free to add additional thoughts and
suggestions.

Overall in this class, I have learned that many of these methods and styles of teaching make their way
through many different alleys from elementary to high school. I use a lot of these, before I understood
how and why, in my own teaching of high school band. I like how MLT compares and contrasts all of the
elements in each lesson we’ve learned thus far. The largest take away for me was the improvisation
elements at such a young age. I can use these simple strategies with my high school students.

The lesson plans that I will create will be a little bit challenging. It has been years since I have had to think
with my elementary brain, but it has been so helpful to test out some things with my young kids at home.
I’ve really enjoyed learning and relearning all of these different teaching styles. I have also really enjoyed
watching and learning from other educators, I feel like that has helped me see things in my own teaching
style that was unexpected.